The Oklahoma City Thunder were 2-1 coming into tonight against the Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder would be without Steven Adams and Chris Paul on the night two of their leaders on the team. With CP3 and Adams out the game tonight in Dallas, the Thunder leaned on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari. Both Shai and Danilo had 16 points each in the evening and were able to use the paint and wide-open shots to their advantage tonight. Shai had some strong moves to the basket that were followed with some finesse layups. The way that Shai plays looks like he’s been in the NBA for more than 2 years. He plays the game with grace and plays with a smoothness that looks so unbothered when he’s attacking. One thing that he’s been able to add to his game more consistent so far is his 3 point shot. On the night he was able to get some good looks and convert. Nerlens Noel had a great night as well with 8 points and 4 blocks. He was a force in the paint and played a great role with Steven Adams out for tonight. Nerlens spoke on his performance and the team after the game in Dallas.
Danilo Gallinari was able to get his offensive game going tonight against the Mavericks after sitting out the game against New Zealand. Gallinari had some impressive And-1 plays tonight against the Mavericks where he was able to slice and dice to the rim. If Gallinari can stay healthy and compete at a high level like the Thunder/NBA know this can be something special for the team. Gallinari brings some length and someone that is a pure shooter to the Thunder. The Thunder have lacked in a knockdown shooter in the past and this could be the season we see that with some extra ball movement and people open. Danilo Gallinari can be that missing piece to the offense that can bring this team pretty far if they can continue to gel on this type of level.
Another player that impressed tonight in Dallas was Hamidou because he was able to get after Luka on the defensive end. If Hamidou can use his defense to turn into offense he could have an amazing 2 year in the NBA. So many people want to see him take that next step and he can definitely do that under the leadership of Billy Donovan. If Hami takes that next step he can be even more special and help the Thunder have a 3&D player that they can believe in on a nightly basis.
This game was all about growth for the Thunder as they got their first taste of Luka and Kristaps on the year. Both of them didn’t play in Tulsa for the first game of the preseason. Luka and Kristaps were able to use the ball movement from the Mavericks to their advantage as they were hitting 3 pointers and getting to the lane. Both of them finished with a combined 36 points on the night and looked really good. The Mavericks have a nice young core and if they can gel this whole team together for the season there will be some battles between them and OKC throughout the year.
The Thunder play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in OKC and will look to go 3-1 in the preseason.
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